Another View: Veterans bill product of bipartisan cooperation

The following editorial appeared recently in The Advertiser in Lafayette.

In these times of partisan strife, it's encouraging to learn that Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany have authored a bipartisan bill to help retain and expand VA clinics around the nation, including two here in Louisiana.

It is especially gratifying that is was our homegrown members of Congress who set aside political differences to introduce the Let's Keep Our Commitment to Veterans Act, which will affect services to veterans in states across the country. Signing on as a supporter of the bill is Louisiana's Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter, along with a list of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

The bill, which was introduced on the last day of February, is meant to address a situation brought about by the Congressional Budget Office that could have ultimately meant the shutdown of local services for veterans in Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey and other states.

At the very least, the bill will keep the doors of Lafayette's VA clinic open for the time being - the lease at its present location is set to expire in November.

In an email response from Landrieu staffer Matthew Lehrer, Landrieu was quoted as saying the veterans' clinics in southwest Louisiana "have been riddled with bureaucratic setbacks and rules that don't make any sense."

It was just last year when the Lafayette clinic seemed to be on its way to moving into larger quarters and expanding its services. Efforts were also progressing for Lake Charles, which has only a mobile clinic, to finally get a permanent facility.

The expanded services at these local clinics, which would serve a large number of Acadiana parishes, would eliminate the need for veterans, some of whom are in their 80s, to travel to Alexandria for many of the routine medical services they receive.

But plans had to be put on hold when the Congressional Budget Office changed the way it handles leased property - and many VA clinics are built on leased land.

In the past, when new VA clinics were proposed, the CBO required only startup money, plus a year's rent to be set aside. But the CBO recently decided that 20 years' worth of rent money had to be produced up front.

Instead of millions, it will cost more than $1 billion to begin construction on new or expanded VA clinics in 12 states.

And that is why construction has been delayed for the Lafayette and Lake Charles clinics, among others.

Landrieu's office calls the new rule an "onerous and burdensome requirement."

We concur. But at this point, it is a reality of life.

The bill introduced by Landrieu and Boustany doesn't have a dollar amount attached to it, Lehrer said.

It appears to be a means of buying time to figure out where to get the money to pay these newly formulated upfront costs.

We hope the cooperative spirit between the two parties demonstrated in this bill will continue. If lawmakers from both parties work together on this problem, it is more likely that a solution will be found that both sides can support.

We applaud their bipartisan effort to make it easier for Louisiana's veterans, from World War II vets to recently discharged veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan or on the homefront, to get the medical services they need and deserve.

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Another View: Veterans bill product of bipartisan cooperation

In these times of partisan strife, it's encouraging to learn that Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany have authored a bipartisan bill to help retain and

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